Emergency Food and Care Support Grants

Council is providing one-off grants to local not-for-profit organisations that provide emergency food and care packages to residents of our city experiencing hardship due to COVID-19.

This support will focus on organisations that provide emergency services, and have had a significant increase in demand as a result of the pandemic.

Funding will be used for costs associated with:

Items purchased to be included in the food and/or care packages such as perishable and non-perishable food items, personal care and hygiene products, and 'groceries only' gift cards.
Items required for the preparation of packages such as boxes, bags, labels and items related to COVID safety, for example gloves, hand sanitiser, masks.
Distribution costs such as reimbursement of travel costs and van hire.
Administrative costs up to 5%.

If you're part of a not-for-profit organisation that provides emergency support, read the details below then use the button at the bottom of the page to apply for a grant.

To apply for these grants, your organisation must:

Be not-for-profit, i.e. do not earn profit for its owners, and all money earned through pursuing business activities or through donations goes back into running the organisation.
Be an existing provider of services within the Wollongong Local Government Area.
Already be providing emergency service such as food provision and care packages, or have a demonstrated ability to do so.
Have the capacity to deliver the program within the agreed timeframe as stated in the terms of approval.

The following organisations are not eligible for this program:

Organisations that are for-profit, commercial businesses
Government Departments
Individuals
Non-Incorporated organisations
Organisations that do not currently provide service to residents in Wollongong Local Government Area.

Up to four rounds of funding will be available during the 2021-2022 financial year (see the Key dates section of this page for the timing of each round).

There will be two funding streams available:

Stream A: Emergency food provisions - total $100,000
Stream B: Emergency care packages - total $100,000

Organisations can apply for up to $10,000 in each stream for Rounds 1 and 2.

Applications will be considered using the following criteria:

Criteria	Weighting
Experience in delivering emergency food provisions and / or emergency care packages	20%
Ability to reach local Wollongong residents experiencing significant hardship as a result of COVID-19	20%
Ability to deliver in a timely way including existing resources to support	20%
Value for money of package	20%
Geographical coverage of delivery	10%
Local weighting	10%

The assessment process will be as follows:

Applications will be considered by a review panel consisting of Council officers;
Applications recommended for support will be presented to the General Manager for final approval
Successful applicants will receive an agreement, outlining the terms of approval and the allocation of funds
Grant recipients must be able to deliver within the agreed timeframe as specified in the guidelines.

If your application is successful, we will email you a letter of offer. This will outline the amount of funding approved, and the terms and conditions of the offer.

To receive funds, you will need to submit a signed letter of agreement and tax invoice with an Australian Business Number (ABN) to Council before any funds are released.

Successful applicants must also complete and submit the acquittal report by the due date. An acquittal form will be provided to you with the agreement.

Please note, Wollongong City Council will not be responsible for shortfalls in project budgets if the grant recipient is unable to meet project costs.

Round 1 key dates

Action	Date
Applications open	11 August 2021
Applications close	25 August 2021
Successful applicants announced	27 August 2021
Projects to be completed	30 October 2021
Acquittals to be submitted	30 November 2021

Round 2 key dates

Action	Date
Applications open	11 October 2021
Applications close	25 October 2021
Successful applicants announced	28 October 2021
Projects to be completed	30 December 2021
Acquittals to be submitted	15 February 2022

Key dates for future Rounds will be added to this page when they are confirmed.

Use the button below to apply for this program.

Apply for an Emergency Support Grant

If you have any questions about this program, please email us or call (02) 4227 7111.

Finding emergency support services

Details of organisations providing emergency support through this program will be added to this page once successful applicants are confirmed.

If you’re looking for support, please check back from early September 2021 for updates.

You can also find support through these links:

COVID-19 Support Directory - a list of local and national support services
Low Cost and Free Meals

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